Harry Potter Films

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, chances are, you’ll also be familiar with the films and their stars, Daniel Radcliff (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma Watson (Hermione). Like the books, the films have been hugely successful but interestingly, filming started long before the series was completed, with the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as it was called in the US) released in 2001, which was after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book 4) was published in 2000 but before book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published in 2003.

There are 8 Harry Potter films in total, though there are only 7 Harry Potter books. This is because the eighth book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was split into two full-length films.

If you love the films and want to experience some of the locations, there’s a brilliant map at the VisitBritain website showing all of the filming locations both in London (ie King’s Cross Station) and across the UK (ie Durham Castle which was used for Hogwarts and Glencoe for Hagrid’s hut).

Watching the films is a mammoth undertaking, particularly for children, so I’ve included the length of each film for you. And unless you’re familiar with the books already, I’d recommend watching the films in this order (ie the same as the books):